When a wheel is being installed on a vehicle, the vehicle is already raised on a jack so that the wheel being replaced is clear off the ground. The new wheel must be lifted from the ground to align the studs of the axle-spindle on the vehicle to the holes in the rim of the wheel. This operation is somewhat relatively difficult where the person doing this task is kneeled down, holding the wheel at arm's length, to manipulate the wheel into the wheel well of the vehicle. The final positioning of a wheel on the studs of an axle-spindle of a vehicle constitutes the principal objective of the present invention.
Various devices have been developed in the past to assist a mechanic during the working of a wheel onto a vehicle. In a first group of prior art wheel lifting devices, the following inventions were found: CA Patent 200,020 issued to L. R. Schmertz on May 11, 1920. This document describes a handle with a pair of hooks affixed to the handle. The hooks are fitted under a tire to be mounted on a rim. The handle is used to lift the tire with one hand and to place it on the rim of the wheel. CA Publication 2,105,036 by R. Marcou on Feb. 28, 1995. This document describes a pry bar that can be used to lift a wheel off the ground and to align it with the studs of the axle-spindle.
A second group of wheel lifting devices comprises tray-like wheel supports that are raised and lowered by ratchet-type actuators:    U.S. Pat. No. 3,292,902 issued to M. F. Lynch on Dec. 20, 1966;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,961 issued to R. Gionet on Aug. 8, 2000;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,496 issued to W. J. Novak et al. on Mar. 1, 2005;    U.S. Pat. No. 8,910,957 issued to C. C. Hassell on Dec. 16, 2014;    CA Patent 2,032,119 issued to M. A. Painter on Feb. 27, 1996;    CA Patent 2,325,175 issued to C. C. Rawlings on May 5, 2001.
In a third group of wheel lifting mechanisms, the following documents provide a good representation of the current status of this technology.    U.S. Pat. No. 1,275,716 issued to H. E. Maurer, Jr., on Aug. 13, 1918;    U.S. Pat. No. 1,361,889 issued to W. J. Miller et al., on Dec. 14, 1920;    U.S. Pat. No. 2,332,443 issued to R. L. Foringer on Oct. 19, 1943;    U.S. Pat. No. 2,349,251 issued to J. J. Domoj on May 23, 1944;    U.S. Pat. No. 2,362,981 issued to C. P. Baum on Nov. 21, 1944;    U.S. Pat. No. 2,380,415 issued to E. R. Carruthers on Jul. 31, 1945;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,605 issued to A. V. Coccaro on Sep. 1, 1987;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,082 issued to O. O. Smith on Sep. 8, 1987;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,161 issued to M. Tomasevic on Mar. 17, 1992;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,994 issued to C. Tortellier on Sep. 14, 2004;    U.S. Pat. No. 7,097,406 issued to W. Gang on Aug. 29, 2006;    U.S. Pat. No. 7,232,138 issued to A. R. Shubert on Jun. 19, 2007;    US Publication 2001/0038094 by D. E. Lundy, Sr. Et al. on Nov. 8, 2001;    CA Patent 1,287,041 issued to A. V. Coccaro on Jul. 30, 1991;    CA Publication 2,625,141 by J. Snook on Sep. 27, 2007.
The devices in this last group have a pair of rollers on which a wheel is supported. The rollers are pulled toward each other to raise the wheel, and pushed away to lower the wheel. The pulling of the rollers is done by pawl and ratchet mechanisms or by threaded rods. Although the use a threaded rod actuator is desirable to obtain finer adjustments, the rollers on which the wheel is supported rotate against the wheel when the lift is operated. The movement of the rollers against the wheel changes the angular orientation of the rim relative to the studs on the axle-spindle, and therefore an angular adjustment of the wheel or the axle-spindle must be repeated every time the wheel is lifted a slight distance.
Common wheel jacks used to change a wheel on a vehicle are not made to raise a vehicle higher than needed. A wheel to be replaced needs to be raised just enough to get it off the ground, to slide it from the axle-spindle and to install a spare wheel at its place. When the jack is extended beyond this point, to its full height for example, it become unstable and is easily tilted, with hazardous consequences. Some of the wheel support devices of the prior art are relatively thick and their use requires an extension of a wheel jack at heights that are considered unstable.
Another group of the wheel support devices of the prior art are operated by ratchet and pawl actuators, wherein the position of the wheel with the pawl in one notch is below the required placement and with the pawl in the next notch, the wheel is above the desired level. The wheel still needs to be manipulated by hand to place it correctly on the studs of the axle-spindle.
In view of these observations and inconveniences, it is believed that a market exits for a better wheel positioning lift that has a low profile and that is capable of fine adjustments while maintaining stable the angular orientation of the wheel.